How to prevent aging in 20 years? — Altos Labs’ Cellular Reprogramming Excitement
It’s a little confusing. You claim to be able to cure aging within 20 years, but are you a longevity company or not?
Altos Labs has recently emerged from stealth mode and announced $3 billion of funding. This money was reportedly raised by investors such as Jeff Bezos and a team that included Nobel Prize winners and pioneering researchers. The secretive company insists that it is \”not an anti-aging company or a longevity company\”. Unsurprisingly, a member of the scientific leadership has recently stated publicly that he believes that using the same technologies that Altos is working with, we will be capable of preventing aging in twenty years.
Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte is the scientist who made these bold claims. He’s a Spanish biochemist, and has spent many years at Salk Institute pioneering innovations in development biology, regenerative medicines, and aging research.
In 2006, an experiment showed that cells could be reprogrammed using only four master genes. These four reprogramming factor are also known as the Yamanaka Factors after Shinya Yamanaka who was one of their discoverers and is part of the Altos Labs Team.
Belmonte, along with his Salk Institute team of researchers, demonstrated in 2016 that cells and organs from a living animal can be rejuvenated by cellular reprogramming.
Belmonte will leave the Salk Institute in January 2022 to become director of Altos Labs San Diego Institute of Science. Altos Labs states that they \”focus on cellular rejuvenation programs to restore cell health, resilience and the goal to reverse disease in order to transform medicine.\”
Belmonte recently published new research on the Yamanaka Factors in Nature Aging. The study showed that activating them intermittently led to \”rejuvenating effects in different tissue, such as kidneys and skin.\”
Belmonte believes that similar research could be done on humans. El Pais, a Spanish newspaper, reported on his comments.
Source:
